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live at home YourselfMake With a visit to one (or all) of these inspiring home and garden tours this month Remodeled Homes Tour Join the Madison chapter of the National Association of the Remodel- ing Industry for its 11th annual showcase of stunning kitchens, baths, basements and more, all built by local NARI contractors. When: June 5, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Where: Madison and Monona Details: Tickets cost $10 per person, but include admission for a guest at no additional charge. For a complete list of remodeled homes and directions visit narimadison.org. Parade of Homes Every year since 1950, the Madison Area Builders Association has created the premier home tour of the summer. Walk through a selec- tion of homes that highlight the latest in building methods as well as home and interior design. When: June 11-26, Mon.-Fri. 3-7 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Where: Fitchburg, DeForest, Verona, Waunakee, Deerfield, Bristol, Oregon Details: Ticket prices run $12 for adults, $6 for seniors (65-plus) and children (3-12), children under 3 are free. For a complete list of parade homes and directions visit maba.org. Attic Angel Association’s House & Garden Tour This 58th annual tour opens for its final year with a showing of unique and historic homes that highlight the spirit of the community. When: June 20, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Where: Middleton’s University Heights neighborhood Details: Proceeds benefit the Attic Angel Association. Find ticket prices and locations at atticangel.org. A New Nest with Resource Robin Tag along on a journey to build a smarter home, locally On to month three: Connecting to Nature By Robin Pharo As the temperature warms, we have been working to meet our goal of creating a home connected to nature. From landscap- ing to product selection, opportunities to make choices that have a positive impact on our environment are plentiful. Our plan is to make the Future Home look like it is a part of the land, not just sur- rounded by planted flowers and bushes. To do that, we are looking at native materials and plants, starting with our stonework. We have a lot of sandstone on our site. Unfortunately, when we excavate we won’t be able to reuse that stone. Our new goal? Use other rock found locally for retaining walls and borders in a similar color. The same goes for plants we’ll bring in. We always seek native plantings. Our land- scape team has suggested natively cultivated varietals. Cultivars are a form of native plants that deviate slightly from the wild type—they may be shorter, more drought tolerant and flower larger, but they are still part of the native species. Inside, I have had to rethink some of the building materials that I typically seek. For example, I used to be against using granite and stone in a building project. However, one of the best ideas to bring the outdoors in was to replicate the natural elements. The design team challenged me to consider using natural elements inside—including regional stone or granite or locally harvest- ed wood. So we added two questions for product decisions: How are the products manufactured and are they manufactured in a way that takes care of the earth? Also, can we consider products that are mined or forested in a sustainable manner region- ally, to support our local economy? With these key decisions you can build a home more closely connected to both the natural and economic environment of its surrounding community. Find out more about Robin’s building deci- sions and watch the House of the Future as it becomes reality by following the link at bravamagazine.com. 20 BRAVA Magazine June 2011